When I visit many of O2’s larger clients I recognise that regardless of the industry, most organisations share a common need to reduce risk and make workplaces or public spaces safe and secure. Until now organisations have tended to rely on manual, paper-based processes to manage field-based tasks such as regulatory or security compliance audits.

However as each new regulatory, health and safety, public safety and service delivery requirement is introduced, and with existing regulations changing constantly, the risks associated with failing to deliver them are becoming too high to contemplate.

Carrying out compliance checks and security audits is one thing, but I find that what is often neglected is gleaning insight from the data captured that could drive immediate actions. By the time paper-based evidence is analysed, organisations are making critical decisions based on inaccurate or out-of-date information.

More transparency and visibility can help to avoid:

regulator fines

loss of revenue due to a closure of a factory or office

loss of customers and brand reputation

tasks not being done to the standard you would expect

So what are the options?

The solution is not as simple as just recording compliance checks and audits on a tablet instead of paper. Companies need a reliable, digital audit trail delivered using mobile devices that capture and process data in real-time, enabling important actions to be taken without delay.

O2’s own Smart Compliance solution turns mobile devices into data collection equipment, allowing you to digitally monitor and record tasks, and report faults in real-time to improve productivity, efficiency and safety, and meet compliance requirements.

O2 Smart Compliance uses Internet of Things (IoT) sensors and regular hand-held devices to enable users to complete checks quickly and easily on any equipment that needs regular maintenance – whether it is bandages in a care facility or fire extinguishers in a train station. Wherever there is a task to complete, you simply position an IoT sensor.

Each time a sensor is scanned the cloud stores information relating to time and user. It can then present the user with a series of questions or assessments to complete, capturing all the results to view in a central dashboard.

However, O2 Smart Compliance’s real benefits come from its ability to take the data being captured, and present it as real time, accessible and visual information that can help organisations to understand their business, predict trends and maintain a digital audit trail.

How O2 Smart Compliance supported Scotrail

Like all railway operators, Scotrail have an obligation to protect customers and employees while they’re on railway property. But they also need to be able to prove it, with auditable records to show that safety and security checks are carried out. O2 Smart Compliance was the ideal solution, and Scotrail presented us with a wish list, including real-time information, time-sensitive prompts and tamper-proof records.

O2 Smart Compliance uses handset alerts to drive staff to specific areas considered most at risk, such as turnstiles, platforms and areas with low visibility. As a paperless system, checks and audits are captured in real time, and compliance data is presented to Scotrail’s management via an onscreen dashboard, enabling them to see when each station zone has been searched, as well as who it was searched by.

O2 Smart Compliance enables Scotrail to fully meet compliance levels with a system that’s quick to implement, easy to use and cost-effective. Watch the full story here.

“It’s taken a lot of pressure off us regarding compliance and it’s created better relationships between management and staff.”

George Allan, Head of Customer Experience, ScotRail

Free compliance report

If you are still relying on paper-based processes to manage operational tasks, then we have published a downloadable report that will help you. It offers guidance on how to enhance compliance procedures, reduce risk, improve the productivity of your workforce and deliver smart paperless reporting.

As an IoT sales specialist at O2, I work with some of O2’s biggest clients on designing compliance solutions that take advantage of the technology available today and that meet ever more demanding standards. I would love to discuss how O2 Smart Compliance can help you. You can contact me via LinkedIn.